How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at A & W Aircraft?

A & W Aircraft publishes $80 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $50 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 18, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,035, in a range of $9,500 to $12,600. That covers roughly 72 hours of flying and instruction plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out, including the written test, the examiner's checkride fee, a medical, and study materials. It is a PilotBound estimate built on the school's published rates, not a quote from A & W Aircraft.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at A & W Aircraft?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at A & W Aircraft to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 72 hours. Pace is the single biggest variable: flying once a week typically stretches the timeline and raises the total, because time between lessons gets spent re-learning. Weather, aircraft availability, and instructor turnover all push the same direction.

Is A & W Aircraft a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

A & W Aircraft does not state on its own website whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so we do not list one. It is worth asking directly before you enroll: Part 141 follows an FAA-approved syllabus and is generally what VA benefits require, while Part 61 is more flexible on scheduling.

Do A & W Aircraft's aircraft rates include fuel?

A & W Aircraft publishes $80 per hour for the Cessna 152, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 18, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at A & W Aircraft?

A & W Aircraft trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $50 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on A & W Aircraft's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Fort Worth, TX · Checked August 18, 2026

What flight training at A & W Aircraft costs

Website sycamorestrip.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Two tails at one rate. Two seats, so it trains the Private but not a full commercial load.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at A & W Aircraft

$11,035

range $9.5K – $12.6K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on A & W Aircraft's published rates: Cessna 152 at $80/hr + $50/hr instruction, checked August 18, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$7,175

at the hours students actually take$11,035

+$3,860 on A & W Aircraft's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$9.5K – $12.6K

Aircraft rental$5,760

Instruction$2,900

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$8,660

72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $80/hr + 58 dual @ $50/hr

One-time fees ($2,375)

Knowledge (written) test$175
Checkride / DPE fee$800
Medical certificate$150
Headset$700
Ground school / test prep$300
Books, charts & supplies$250

Hours at a steady pace72 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset).

The hourly flying is priced on A & W Aircraft's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not A & W Aircraft's prices, and several are set by third parties.

Estimates use PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists and FAA minimums where it does not, applied to each school's published rates. They are PilotBound estimates, not the school's quote, and will differ from a school's own figures. Full methodology and sources →

What A & W Aircraft publishes

checked August 18, 2026

Cessna 152 (VFR)Two tails at one rate. Two seats, so it trains the Private but not a full commercial load.$80/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172 (VFR, N7638T)$100/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172 (IFR, N2864Q)The aeroplane the school's own private-pilot package is costed on.$115/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$50/hr

The rates are published on the airfield's own services page, which prices the aeroplanes by tail number and separates the VFR and IFR Cessna 172s. Its private-pilot package is built from the same figures and its arithmetic agrees with them. The page does not say whether aeroplane rates include fuel, and it states that rates and terms are subject to change. Hangars and tie-downs are priced on the same page by the month and are not training costs. The site is served over plain http with no https.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $11,035 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what A & W Aircraft's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?Missing from their site
The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.
What gets billed on top of the hourly rates, and roughly how much per hour does it add?
The site notes extras beyond the hourly figures. Ask for the all-in number per hour, not the base rate.
Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?
Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.
Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site
It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.
Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?
Block discounts are common and rarely published. The refund terms matter more than the discount.
What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?
The DPE fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country and is almost never in a quoted hourly rate.
How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?
Availability decides your pace, and pace decides your total more than the hourly rate does.

Estimates use A & W Aircraft's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 18, 2026), shown in USD for planning only. Real cost varies by student, weather, and pace. An honest range, not a quote.

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by A & W Aircraft. School names are used only to identify the school. Estimates use PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists and FAA minimums where it does not, applied to each school's published rates. They are PilotBound estimates, not the school's quote, and will differ from a school's own figures. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about A & W Aircraft

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at A & W Aircraft?: A & W Aircraft publishes $80 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $50 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 18, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,035, in a range of $9,500 to $12,600. That covers roughly 72 hours of flying and instruction plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out, including the written test, the examiner's checkride fee, a medical, and study materials. It is a PilotBound estimate built on the school's published rates, not a quote from A & W Aircraft.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at A & W Aircraft?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at A & W Aircraft to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 72 hours. Pace is the single biggest variable: flying once a week typically stretches the timeline and raises the total, because time between lessons gets spent re-learning. Weather, aircraft availability, and instructor turnover all push the same direction.
Is A & W Aircraft a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: A & W Aircraft does not state on its own website whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so we do not list one. It is worth asking directly before you enroll: Part 141 follows an FAA-approved syllabus and is generally what VA benefits require, while Part 61 is more flexible on scheduling.
Do A & W Aircraft's aircraft rates include fuel?: A & W Aircraft publishes $80 per hour for the Cessna 152, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 18, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at A & W Aircraft?: A & W Aircraft trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $50 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on A & W Aircraft's own published rates.

Other Texas flight schools

All Texas flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what free money exists, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Free money first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.